He reached the All-Comers final for the Men's Singles title at the US Championships in 1898 and 1899. He then teamed up with Holcombe Ward and won the Men's Doubles title at the championships for three years in a row from 1899 to 1901. Davis and Ward were also Men's Doubles runners-up at Wimbledon in 1901. Davis also won the American intercollegiate singles championship of 1899 as a student at Harvard College.

In 1900 Davis developed the structure for, and donated a silver bowl to go to the winner of, a new international tennis competition designed by him and three others known as the International Lawn Tennis Challenge, which was later renamed the Davis Cup in his honor. He was a member of the US team that won the first two competitions in 1900 and 1902, and was also the captain of the 1900 team.

Death

Legacy

His daughter Alice Brooks Davis was married to the British Ambassador to the United StatesSir Roger Makins. Another daughter, Cynthia Davis, was married to banker William McChesney Martin, Jr, the longest-serving Federal Reserve director (1951-1970) who served under five presidents (Truman to Nixon).